Fort Lauderdale

Dean Trantalis beat opponent Bruce Roberts on Tuesday night. Trantalis made city history by also becoming the city's first openly LGBTQ mayor.

A third candidate, Charlotte Rodstrom, did not get enough votes during the primary election in January to stay in the race.

Elizabeth Athanasakos, a Fort Lauderdale resident of 61 years, voted at the Coral Ridge Mall polling location early Tuesday. She said she was motivated to come and vote for mayor this election because of her stance on development.

The city of Fort Lauderdale released a long-awaited study Thursday about the status of its stormwater and drainage systems.

In an update to the city's Stormwater Master Plan, Hazen and Sawyer P.C., the company that won the contract to manage the master plan, laid out recommendations for fixing pipes in the city's seven high-priority neighborhoods: Progresso Village, Victoria Park, Dorsey Riverbend, Southeast Isles, River Oaks, Edgewood and Durrs.

Fort Lauderdale's two mayoral candidates — Vice Mayor Bruce Roberts and District 2 Commissioner Dean Trantalis — joined host Luis Hernandez to discuss their campaign and priorities for the city. Voters will go to the polls to to elect a new mayor on March 13.

Sewage has been spilling into Fort Lauderdale’s streets, neighborhoods and waterways for more than three years now. Millions of gallons of waste on the roads and in canals are the product of old sewage pipes and cracked infrastructure.

But at a regular City Commission meeting Tuesday, commissioners agreed to borrow $200 million to start updating the areas with the worst pipes.

The vote was 4-1, and it was commissioner, and mayoral candidate, Dean Trantalis who voted not to borrow the money.

Fort Lauderdale’s City Hall was packed Tuesday night. All of the candidates running to be the next city commissioners and mayor of the city faced questions from Sun Sentinel political reporter, and the debate's moderator, Brittany Wallman.

The debate was held four parts. The three mayoral candidates went first, followed by separate debates for city commission candidates running for districts two, three and four.